Elevator for boats with constant draft



March 10, 1931.

A. HUGUENIN ELEVATOR FOR BOATS WITH CONSTANT DRAFT Filed Dec. 9, 192aWJM W Patented Mar. 10, 1931 A UNITED STATES ArsN T oFFICE ALBERTHUGUENIN, on PARIS, FRANCE E EVATO ron' Boers WITH. CONSTANT DRAFTApplication filed December 9, 1926, Serial No. 153,683, and in FranceDecember 21, 1925.

As compared with locks, boat elevating apparatus have a great advantagefrom the fact that the amount of water supporting the boats remainsunchanged when the boats are transferred from one level to the other bymeans of such apparatus. In the case of locks, the operation must beperformed upon the volume of water in which the boats are situated, andsuch operations must be carried out very 1 slowly, in order to avoid anexcessive action upon the boat or boats in the lock chamber. It shouldbe further observed that it-is the operation of filling and emptyingwhich requires the greatest, time and which constitutes the principaldisadvantage of the lock system, due to the amount of time thusemployed. a

In the case of navigable canals or streams,

the loss of water represented by each. opera tion at the locks is not tobe counted as an economical factor, although in the case of artificialcanals the water must generally be pumped to the upper reach or channel,since it is usually impossible to obtain a supply from a naturalwatercourse in a sufficient quantity. For all other uses of locks which arenecessary when differences of level are set up on a navigable stream forpower purposesand artificial canals are now in use both for navigationand for, supplying hydroelectric developments the loss of water ateach-operation of the locks represents a corresponding consumption ofenergy which could be recovered bythe power plant and which is lost dueto the lock operations;

Inpractice, each lock operation represents an expenditure of energy, andexcept for a small number of ,cases,-'this cannot be considered asnegligible. 7 w

Since the boat elevator will always require a considerable expenditureof energy which is already supplied for the purpose, the two I systemsare quite the same-from this standpoint, when used in combination with ahydro-electric development. Q In order to reduce this consumption ofpower to the minimum amount in the case of both elevating apparatus, itwas first desired to obtain a complete equilibrium between the weight ofthe movable lock-chamber and the water contained therein,'this beingconstant, whether the lock-chamber contains one or more boats or not,upon the whole coursecovered by the lock-chamber.-

This exact equilibration can only be obtained 'by the use of weightswhich are equal to the'weight of the lock chamber itself, andall-theknown systems which utilize the floating of 'thefl'ock chamberare defective from the'fact that'the equilibrium is not exact throughoutthe-whole course of the lock chamber, but is exact only at a singlemoment and is defective for the remainder of the stroke.

The known methods for equilibration on the floating principle are inallcases defective from the fact that the immersion is either too greator to 0 small at the end of the course,

and is exact only for a position corresponding. to about the middle ofthe course. It is however undeniable that the equilibration on thefloating principle oflers great'advanta'ges in the way of simpleoperation, and the present invention relates -to 'a' system by which thedesired resultis obtained in an approved manner, and

the lock chamber is givenaconstant draft for all the positions which itnal sections of the elevator representing two typical waiting positions,in communication with the left hand higherlevel basin in Fig. 1, andwith the right hand lower lever basin in Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a general cross section of the elevator on the line 3-3of'Fig. 2 and showing the lock chamber and the floating chamber.

The lock chamber (1 consists of a hollow metallic structure having theform of a floating dock, and a watertight arrangement 15 employedbetween the end surfaces of the lock chamber a an 79 of-the Wallsapproved desi struction.

d the corresponding flat faces of the float chamber, at either end. Thisdevice (not shown) may be of any gn in the practiceof gate con- The lockchamber a which provides for a constant water depth 0, which may varyonly very slightly in a maritime plant, but which must be exactlyconstant for a river plant, is floating in a mass of water d whichentirely iills the space between the side walls 6 and the end walls Z)of the float chamber. 011 the down stream side, two circular channels fconnect the said float chamber (Z with the lower level basin. These areprovided with an axial pump 9 driven by an electric motor h, this latterbeing disposed in a watertight chamber 71. No gatesare provided for inthe circular channels 7 as the motors driving the aXial pump aredesigned intentionally for a large range of speeds and are furthermorereversible. At low speed, the runners of the pumps are cutting off anywater discharge through the channels. The two right and left hand waterchannels, i. e. the upper and lower channels or reaches, .are closed offfrom the said lock chamber by the two gates 71: and Z, known per se.

Fig. 1 shows the lock chamber in the position in which it is adapted toreceive a boat proceeding upon the down stream course, in which case thegate is opened and the gate Z closed. The water level in rZ ismaintained at the proper height by the pumps g-k which as above statedmay rotate in either direction and also at a variable speed, since onlya small speed is necessary in order to cut off the water at (Z from thelower level basin; this difference of level may be above or below thelower level. No gates in the channels f are provided for.

As soon as the boat enters the lock chamber a, the up stream gate isclosed; the pumps gh are run at the normal speed and in either direction(Fig. l) to lower the level cl; the lock chamber now sinks and as soonas the water level therein tends to assume the down stream level, thespeed of the pumps gh is reduc'edand if necessary the pumps arereversed-in order to maintain a constant water level in the chamber (Z;the gate Z is opened and the boat can then proceed into the lower levelbasin.

Fig. 2 shows the elevator in the position for receiving boats on thelower level; thus the gate Z is in the disappearing position and thegate 70 is closed. In this event the operation is quite the same asabove described.

The great advantage of the present elevating system consists in the factthat the boats in the lock chamber can be transferred from one level tothe other in a very short time, since the water in the float chamber dcan be supplied to or discharged from the said cham her by means ofpumping apparatus 71. operating at a high speed, through the passage f,and since this water is not in contact with the boat and the saldpassage need not be closed during such operations, inasmuch as the pumpsgh rotate at reducedspeed and in the proper dir-ection, thus practicallycut ting off the channels f and permitting an adjustment of the waterlevel in the float chamber d which may be required at any time for theconstant draft of the lock chamber a in the water of the float chamberd.

Another advantage inherent in the said system consists in the greatsimplicity and strength of the small number of parts entering into theconstruction of the aforesaid elevating apparatus, and the entireabsence of all mechanical friction in moving the lock chamber, whereby agreat advantage is ob tained over the known elevating apparatus.

The present system is particularly advantageous for big dimensions ofthe lock chamher a; of course the loss of time necessary for theoperations of a big lock is important and the more so, as the'mean rateof utilization of its capacity is obviously less than for a smallerlock. Thus elevators of this system compare very favourablyespeciallyfor big capacities, against ordinary locks.

The aforesaid elevating system is well adapted for use with lockchambers of the largest size, since the structural part of the floatchamber need not be perfectly watertight and can thus operate withgreater facility in the event of any unequal sinking, and theseconditions will be the better fulfilled inasmuch as the float chambercan be provided for such purposes with construction joints properlyspaced upon its length. This ad vantage is still further apparent in thecase of lock chambers of several hundred meters length, and theequilibration of the weight of the lock chamber on the floatingprinciple with constant draft is without doubt the simplest and mostreliable means which can be employed.

Due to the total elimination of all control for closing the aforesaidfilling and emptying passage, as concerns the operation of the wholeelevator, an essential advantage is obtained as concerns the saving oftime in the operation of the boat elevator.

For inspection purposes, and for the temporary suspension of theoperation, the channels 7 can be provided with known closing means (notshown), but these, as above mentioned, are unnecessary for the standardoperation.

Having thus described my apparatus, what I claim as new therein, and myown invention, is:

In an elevator for boats, the combination of a lock chamber withconstant draft in the form of a floating dock, a float chamber in whichis disposed the said lock chamber, the water level of the float chamberbeing adjustable, channels adapted to connect the float chamber with thelower level basin, a pump in each of the said channels, the said pumpsbeing able to be run at adjustable speed and in either direction inorder to obtain the normal control, and also the practically perfectclosing of the said channels, and a door at each of the ends of the lockchamber.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

ALBERT HUGUENIN.

